This past Friday I shared a special message about the combined retirement ceremony Isabella and I were about to experience. This morning I will share with you some of what happened on Friday and during the weekend.
I could not have asked God for a more amazing weekend. By Thursday night our home was filled with family and friends. By Friday afternoon, when it was time for the retirement ceremony, the auditorium was packed with hundreds of people who came from near and far. People traveled from the Dominican Republic, Arizona, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia and many other places, to celebrate the special moment with us. The room was filled, the time had come and the ceremony began. Lieutenant General Robert Ferrell, a man Isabella and I have known for over 16 years, hosted the ceremony. He provided a fitting tribute to our careers, acknowledging over 46 years of combined service.
When Isabella took the stage she captivated the audience with her amazing story of humble beginnings and she made it clear that she was NOT PROUD of what she had done in her 21 year career. After going through a laundry list of things she was NOT PROUD of, she explained that instead of being proud, she is absolutely GRATEFUL for all God has allowed her to do and experience. God touched many lives through Isabella. By God’s grace she never lost a patient in surgery, she has ministered to countless people at their most vulnerable state (in a hospital bed), and God has used her in miraculous ways. There was an extra special moment when Isabella thanked her Father for bringing her and her brother to this country. He Father brought the children to the U.S. and said, “I do not have much to give you, but this is a land of dreams. You can be anything you chose to be except be the President of the United States, because in order to be President, you must have been born in this country. Other than President, you can be whatever you can dream!” Isabella had the crowd in tears. She ended her speech with 1 Cor 15:10, where Paul said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” The scripture and the personification of it drew a standing ovation.
When it was my turn I had many people to thank and my highest thanks were reserved for God. I am not a self-made man. I cannot say I pulled myself up by my own bootstraps. I am a God-made man who is equipped, empowered, enveloped, emboldened and employed by God’s grace. My story is God’s story and I told my story on Friday. The story of Rick and Isabella Piña is full of God’s mercy and grace. Our story is like a hollywood script and it could not have happened without the grace of God.
Last night, after our last guests left and after a great church service in the morning, I had the opportunity to preach in Jail. The power of God was manifested behind bars as a group of men from my church accompanied me as we ministered Jesus’ love and power to men who needed a breakthrough and God delivered! It was the a most fitting end to an amazing weekend.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- You have a God-given story and God wants you to tell it. Telling it correctly, without watering down God’s glory to be “politically correct” will require courage. But God has given you the courage, by His grace, to tell your story, which is actually His story!
- Don’t be ashamed to tell of God’s goodness in your life. Jesus said, “Whoever denies and disowns Me before men, I also will deny and disown him before My Father Who is in heaven” (Mat 10:33). Have more fear of God than of man and tell your story. On Friday I said, “If you want to have the success I have had, serve the God I serve!”
- When the spotlight is on you, deflect the glory back to God. God is a jealous God and He wants all the glory. He will allow you to enjoy the benefits (He will bless you richly), but He wants the glory. All the glory belongs to God. Never take credit for things God has done for you by grace – unmerited, unearned and even undeserved.
- You are a living letter intended to be read of men. Most of the New Testament is comprised of letters. When you read the New Testament you are reading letters from Paul, Peter, John, etc. But God has also made you a LIVING LETTER. The Bible says, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts. It is known and read by all people. You show that you are a letter from Christ that he sent through us. This letter is not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. It is not written on stone tablets but on human hearts.” (2 Cor 3:1-3). Your life is a LIVING LETTER. So my question for you is: What does your letter say? When people look at you and they read the letter of your life, do they see Jesus as the star of your story or have you made yourself your own star? If you are the star of your own story, then your story won’t end well. But if Jesus is the star of your life’s story, then it will be a story of triumph, victory and success, and it will have a storybook ending.
Our retirement ceremony and the reception that followed was a storybook ending to two fairytale-like careers. Isabella and I are thankful and excited. We look back and say, “Thank You Jesus!” We look forward and say, “Father, we are ready for the next phase of our lives.” The rest of our lives will be the best of our lives because we serve a God of progression and not regression. For us and for you, the BEST IS YET TO COME!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. Your grace is available to me, so I can live the life I was born to live. You made great plans for me. You have blessed me richly. You have already set up my success. But one thing You require of me is boldness. Faith requires courage and I must have the courage to tell my story. I declare that I do. I will tell of Your goodness everywhere I go. I am not ashamed of the Gospel and I am not ashamed of You. You have been FAR too good to me for me to keep it to myself. I will tell everyone everywhere about You and what You are doing in my life. I am a Godly success. I am not a self-made man/woman. I am a God-made man/woman and I will tell it everywhere I go! You have given me an amazing story. I will tell my story, for Your glory, and the more that I do, the more You will be glorified, people will be edified and satan will be terrified! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
